


When Magic Collides

by PenToEnd



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Fire, Magic, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sex may occur, Soooo many ocs, Strangulation, Tags May Change, multiple OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2020-06-27 11:12:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19789696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenToEnd/pseuds/PenToEnd
Summary: Ruby knows her regulars.Henry and Evie Mills always sit in the same booth, third from the door. Evie gets two pancakes and a cup of fruit. Henry gets a plate of waffles and bacon. Harry Jones takes his coffee with three creams and sugars while Killian takes it black. Marla Nephus stops by after school for a soda or two while she does homework. Ben French likes to come in and say hi or to pick up lunch for his parents on weekends. He always tips well and asks after her and Granny.These are facts of life in Storybrooke. The sun rises, Killian and Harry Jones always bring in the best catches, Mayor Regina Mills has always had two children, and Ruby knows her favorite customers orders by heart.But what if these facts were wrong?In Auradon, chaos reigns. Hades has broken the barrier, enraged by his missing children. Adam and Belle must return to the thrones to guide the country. How can the royals battle their villains once more as well as find their missing children?The children themselves are content with their lives, unknowing of the falsehood they have been thrust into as magic begins to bubble beneath their skin.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please keep in mind that I am in the process of watching OUAT but I know plenty of spoilers. I’m playing fast and loose with all magic rules of each universe.

Regina groaned as sunlight struck her eyes. Slowly, she dragged her eyes open and was confronted with the alarm clock blinking 12:00 at her. 

“Oh shit!”

She sat up immediately and scrambled around for her phone, scooping it up from the floor. Her phone’s clock read 10:30. 

“Shit!” She cursed again as she hit the call back button for Mary Margaret. 

“ _The power went out all over town last night_ ,” Mary Margaret informed her as Regina kicked the blankets away and headed for the bathroom. 

“Clearly!” She snapped. “Why else would I sleep in this late?” She hit speaker and quickly washed her face. 

“Mom?” Henry padded in, yawning. “What time is it?” 

“One second,” she said to Mary. “It’s half past ten, go see if Evie is awake.” She sent Henry off, missing something Mary Margaret said. She resolved to ask her later.

“ _Belle called to see if we’re still having the meeting about Miner Day_ ,” Mary Margaret continued. 

“We are as soon as I get my kids some breakfast and get to my office,” Regina promised as she cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear. “Now where the hell is my-”

“Mom, I can’t find Evie!” Henry popped back up in the doorway, a frantic look in his eyes. 

“ _What did Henry say_?” Regina heard David ask in the background on Mary Margaret’s end. 

“I’ll call you back.” She hung up. “What do you mean you can’t find Evie?!” Her palms tingled. With the power out last night, the alarm systems would have been out. Anyone could have slipped in and grabbed Evie from her bedroom. Every parent’s worst nightmare. 

“She’s not in her room or the spare,” Henry said. Evie had a habit of using the spare for her dressmaking business and occasionally falling asleep on the bed if she got into an intense zone and didn’t feel like going back to her own room after.

“Go check the attic, I’ll check downstairs,” Regina sent him off. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm her heart. The organ thudded painfully in her chest as she nearly ran down the staircase. 

A vaguely rotten scent struck her as she looked in the kitchen. A little voice in the back of her mind said that she would need to have groceries delivered at some point. 

She ignored it and checked the living room. Some of Evie and Henry’s things were scattered around. A few comic books and a magazine with some pop star on the front. The fashion pages were of course earmarked. Regina never really took the time to look at those little habits but now with the possibility of Evie being gone, she was finally noticing them. 

“Mom! I found her!”

Moment over. 

Evie was rubbing her eyes when Regina stormed up the stairs. 

“Why were you up here all night?” She demanded. 

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Evie said defensively, covering her mouth as she yawned. “I came to see if I could find some of my old dresses to repurpose but suddenly I got really tired and then the next thing I knew Henry was yelling at me to wake up.” 

“What kind of tired?” Regina had never known her daughter to fall asleep in random places. Though there was the shower incident after soccer camp but that was years ago. 

“Like I had been up since five and it was almost two tired,” Evie shrugged. 

Regina pressed her lips together. Maybe there was more than one explanation for the power outage… 

“I need you to take Henry for breakfast,” she said. “School is cancelled thanks to the power outage last night and I have a few overdue meetings.” 

“Mhm.” Evie rubbed her eyes. 

“Good. Let’s all get ready.” 

~

Regina fiddled with her tights and brushed some lint from her dress. 

“Mom! Can I borrow this?” Evie requested, holding up a tube of mascara. 

“Put it back when you’re done.” She waved a hand in permission as she tried to find her left shoe. 

“Mom! The coffee is done!” Henry called from downstairs. 

“Be right down!” 

Her phone rang with Emma’s name. 

“Yes, I’m almost ready,” she promised as she picked up. 

“ _Good to know but I need something else_.” Emma sounded worried. “ _Did Evie or Henry suddenly fall asleep last night? Maybe somewhere unusual_?”

Regina paused, blazer in hand. “Yes, actually. Why?”

“ _Jilly did too. She fell asleep on the kitchen floor, according to my parents. And Belle said that Rumple found Ben in the hallway outside his own room_.” 

“Huh.” Regina didn’t want to think about the implications of that. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of Henry whining at Evie to hurry up. Even when she hated that sound, she loved it. 

“ _Regina_?” 

She opened her eyes. “I’ll be at my office in fifteen minutes. We can discuss it there.” She hung up. “Evie! Henry! Are you ready yet?”

She made sure they were both dressed for the cold weather and that Evie had money for breakfast. 

“I want you both to come straight home after breakfast,” she ordered. “No detours or anything.”

“Not even a stop at the park?” Henry protested. 

“Straight home,” Regina repeated firmly. “Invite friends over if you like but stay home today.” 

“I have a fitting with Angelina at 12:30,” Evie said, checking her watch. “So I was going to be home anyways.” 

Regina gave both her children a hug and waved as they headed into town. Seeing Evie smile at one of Henry’s jokes sent a pang through her heart. Whatever magic had messed with her daughter was going to regret it. 

~ 

“BEN!” 

Belle tore through the east wing of the palace, frantically searching for her son. Adam searched the west. The staff frantically rushed about. 

Not only was Ben missing, but so were all the children. Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, the few other kids that had recently arrived. They were all gone 

“BEN!” Belle screamed again as she opened the last door of the east wing. 

Only the low buzz of a fly answered her. 

_Where could any of them be_? Belle closed the door, sick to her stomach. How could all of the children go missing at once? 

~ 

Of all the villains of the Isle, Hades was well aware that he was the only one who actually cared for his children. He loved each of his unique, wonderful children. They did not flinch at his touch or shy away from his presence. He had seen his eldest daughter ferry too many children’s souls to be unaware of just how terrible the others were as parents. 

None of his children had yet made the journey to Auradon, though the eldest three, Marla, Hadie, and Evander all tended to roam the Isle of their own accord. Drimys, Ada and Adar (twins), Cy, Basil, Damian, Claus, Panykos, and Aridan tended to stick closer to home. Hades was grateful for this. Their time with him was dwindling and he felt it with each passing minute. 

But this. This was not what he expected. 

Every child on the Isle had vanished overnight. The streets were practically empty. No small voices sang, no cries of hungry infants. Nothing. 

Hades had spent the past 20 years with his magic wrapped in chains and chains have their limits. 

From Auradon, all they saw was a deep blue beam of light erupt from within the Isle’s barrier before it disintegrated. 

The God of the Underworld was on the warpath. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg thank you so much for the great response! I’m so glad you guys want more! To answer a few questions, yes there will be more, Ben/Evie is endgame, and there will be many more characters as VK’s and AK’s alike are in Storybrooke! Also, I don’t know why the thing didn’t say that this is a multi chapter but hopefully adding this one fixes it.

“Mama.” Tiny fingers prodded Zelena’s cheeks. “Mama!” She sighed and opened her eyes, finding Ada standing next to her. “Hungry,” she said solemnly. “Want pancakes.”

“Alright, darling.” Zelena sat up and pulled Ada into her arms. “Where’s your daddy?” She glanced at Hades side of the bed with a frown.

Ada pointed at the floor, thumb in her mouth.

Checking her phone, Zelena found that school was cancelled due to a huge power outage. The kids will be delighted, she thought. Opening the bedroom door, Zelena found the hallway chaotic.

Hadie was running around, frantically looking for his book bag. Cy was trying to do her hair in space buns using the hallway mirror but was failing miserably. Adar was sitting in Aridan’s bedroom doorway holding a unicorn plush and watching him look for a clean school uniform under his bed.

Clattering and the sounds of an argument came from downstairs.

“AHEM!” Zelena managed to get her stepchildren’s attention. “School is cancelled.” 

“Thank god!” Aridan shouted.

“I’m going back to bed,” Hadie said instantly.

Cy let her hair fall back down. “The gods have forsaken me.” She went back to her room.

Cerb opened his bedroom door and squinted at Zelena.

“Go back to sleep dear,” she said, amused by his cowlick.

He closed the door and did just that.

“Pancakes!” Ada insisted.

“P’nc’kes!” Adar cheered, her lisp slurring the vowels.

“We’ll see.” Zelena picked Adar up from the floor. Aridan tossed his school pants to the floor and flopped on his bed. Zelena closed the door and left him to do whatever it was he did when he was alone.

Downstairs was chaos with Marla sitting calmly at the kitchen table eating Fruit Loops. Zelena set Adar down in a booster seat and kissed Marla on the head. She inwardly cheered when she got a smile back. It was a good day then.

Damian was half asleep in his own bowl, a bit of banana stuck to his cheek.

Hades was in the kitchen trying to fry up eggs while Drimys loudly requested toast. Basil was sitting on the pantry floor eating Cheerios out of the box.

Zelena sighed.

“Hades,” she caught her husband’s attention. “The kids don’t have school.”

He relaxed right as the smoke alarm went off.

“The toast is dead,” Marla remarked. She set her bowl in the sink and padded off to get dressed.

Hades’ brow furrowed as he watched her.

“It’s one of her better days,” Zelena quietly reassured him.

Hades pressed his lips together and didn’t argue.

~

Shan Yu finished scrubbing the pan, scraping the last of the scallions off. It was a rare day off for himself and now with the power outage, a day he could spend with his sons. He could hear Jiao-long and Lian laughing in the dining room, no doubt over something silly. He smiled, pleased that his sons were so close despite their large age gap.

His phone rang.

Shan closed his eyes, a frustrated crease appearing in his brow as he heard his sons voices die off.

With nothing else to do, he answered it.

“Yeah?”

“ _I’m sorry_ ,” Whale said immediately. “ _It’s just for a few hours_.”

“How many is a few?” Shan glanced at Lian and Ju-long, both now standing in the doorway.

“ _Three, maybe four. But after that, I swear you can have the rest of the day off and tomorrow morning! I’ll even pay you for overtime_.”

Shan closed his eyes. He couldn’t pass that up.

“Give me thirty minutes.”

“Going in?” Ju-long asked, a resigned note to his voice.

“Only four hours max,” he promised. “Then we can have our movie day.”

It was still impossible to miss how disappointed they both were.

“As soon as I am off, I’ll pick up some food from Granny’s and then come straight home, ok?” He swore. “And then we can watch movies until we fall asleep.” Good thing it was Friday. “Tomorrow is Miner’s Day and I was promised the morning off. We can go to the fair.”

Lian seemed to perk up at that.

“Alright,” Ju-long agreed quietly. “Lian and I can go to the park for awhile, I guess.”

Lian gasped in delight at the prospect.

Shan gave both his sons a hug before he left, guilt curdling in his gut. But money was tight and the promise of overtime pay was strong.

“I really am sorry,” Whale said when he arrived.

“I’m setting a timer.” Shan waved his phone at the man. “I’m out of here in four hours.”

“Deal.”

~

Ju-long held Lian’s hand as they walked two neighborhoods over.

“Why are we here?” Lian asked as they headed up the steps of one of Storybrooke’s larger houses.

“You’ll see.” Ju-long knocked.

A girl a little older than Lian answered, squinting at them.

“Is Marla in?” Ju-long asked her.

She twisted around and hollered, “MARLA! THERE’S A BOY HERE FOR YOU!” Turning back around, she said, at a much lower volume, “Are you gonna ask her on a date?” in the bold way only children could ask.

“Cy, go ask Zelena for space buns,” Marla sighed as she approached. “Hey, Ju-long.”

“Hey Marla!” Lian looked up at his brother, weirded out by the sudden nerves in his tone. “I was wondering if you and some of your siblings might like to go to the park with me and Lian?”

Marla squinted at him. “I thought today was your dad’s day off,” she said after a moment.

“He got called in. I guess the power outage must have messed some stuff up.” Jiu-long shrugged.

“I’ll ask my dad. It’s cold out. Wanna come in?”

“We’re good.”

She closed the door.

“You like her,” Lian observed.

“A little.” Ju-long shrugged. “A lot,” he amended after a moment.

“But she is sad.” Lian frowned.

“Yeah.”

“You like her because she is sad?”

“No.” Ju-long shook his head. “I like her because of a lot of things.”

“Why is she sad?”

“Remember when _Fùqīn_ explained the brain? And how some brains don’t work quite right?” Ju-long wondered if he could explain depression right.

“Yes.” Of course he did, Lian thought a little indignantly.

“Well, Marla’s brain is a bit like that. It doesn’t work quite right so she has a deficiency in happy chemicals.”

The door opened.

“He said yes. Basil, Panykos, and Damian will come with,” Marla informed them. “We’ll be ready in a minute.” She closed the door again.

Even though Ju-long was disappointed by missing some time with his father, he was excited at the prospect of spending that time with the girl he liked. Lian was just a little confused.

Why was her hair green?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave more comments! They feed me! Jiao-long means “looks like a dragon” according to the baby name site I used. Lian’s full name, Lian Yu, means Purgatory, but the name Lian on its own means “lovely willow” so there’s a contrast for you. If this is incorrect, pleeeease let me know! Same goes for my shitty google translate Chinese. I’m white so if I get details wrong about Chinese-American life and you happen to know better, please tell me!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the problems with last chapter! Thank you for letting me know. It was late when I posted and my brain was fuzzy. Sorry this chapter took an extra day or two. I’ve been working at getting my chapters up to 1000 or so words but this one just kept refusing. But here’s Hades trying to find his kids! Featuring several threats of strangulation, lots of fire and smoke, and a reunion with Persephone.

“Where are my kids?!” 

“Is there a new villain on the rise?” 

“The barrier is gone! We’re doomed!” 

“ **QUIEEEEEET** !” Adam roared, silencing the people assembled in the courtyard. “We are not doomed!” He yelled. “I do not know where the children are but we will find them! For now, we cannot panic.”

Deep gray smoke swept through the courtyard. Screams filled the air. A line of blue fire ran down the walkway. From it, emerged Hades. 

The god seized the regent king by the throat, his fiery hair such a light blue that it was nearly white. 

“ _ Where. Are. My. Children _ ?” He hissed. 

Belle lunged and grabbed his arm, praying that the distraction would loosen his grip. “We don’t know,” she said desperately. “All our children are missing as well.” 

Hades glanced at her, suspicious and angry. He seemed to pulse with rage, smoke curling off his body in waves. It was so hot it almost felt cold when it brushed against anyone unlucky enough to cross its path. 

“We woke up and every child in the kingdom had vanished,” she continued. “Ben, Mal, all of them!” 

“All the children of the Isle as well,” Hades growled, still clutching Adam by the throat. 

“Which means that something is afoot, beyond the control of either of us, maybe if we-”

Hades dropped Adam and vanished in a cloud of blue-gray smoke. 

The regent king coughed, a ring of burns shaped like fingers around his throat. No one could move from their spots until he rasped out an order for them all to go home.

The assembly had been called to calm everyone down. But they left with more fear and a few burns from the smoke and fire. 

~

On Mount Olympus, Zeus was lounging on his throne. Hera sat next to him. Nymphs frolicked in the center of the court. Demeter grew grapes from a bit of dirt and Dionysius turned them to wine. Persephone, as she had since Hades and their son were banished to the Isle, sat in a corner, wearing a gown of mourning. She glared whenever anyone came near her and rejected every offer of food, wine, or entertainment. 

In the space between breaths, the lights were snuffed out. The nymphs screamed and Persephone rose to her feet, hardly daring to believe that it was possible. 

Hades appeared, his blue leather jacket and black denim pants vastly out of place in the togas and dresses of the court. 

“Guess who’s  _ baaaack _ ?” He sang, a growl rolling over the words. “Now.” A puff a smoke sent him from the center to right in front of Zeus, smoke curling like a noose around the king of the gods. “ _ Where _ .  _ Are _ .  _ My _ .  _ Children _ ?”

Zeus gasped, too shocked to try and fight back or even say anything. 

“What do you mean?” Hera demanded, on her feet as she glanced wildly between the enraged villain and her husband. “We have done nothing!”

“THEN WHERE ARE THEY?!” Hades roared, flinging Zeus across the room, through a column cloud. “WHO TOOK THEM?!”

Persephone watched her husband, eyes wide as he turned his gaze toward Hectate. Her eyes turned silver. The court held its breath.

“The magic was just not of our realm,” she said at last. “But of this and another.” 

“Another?” Everyone was listening now, eyes wide.

“Wishes are powerful things when combined,” Hectate said vaguely. “A child’s wish from our realm and the wish of one from another met and fused. All of the children of our world are in one that should be without magic. The path to the Land Without Magic has many twists and turns, but it begins at the Enchanted Lake.” 

Hades nodded. Another puff of smoke and he vanished. In the following meele, no one noticed that Persephone had disappeared as well, a sprig of asphodel left in her place.

~

Hades returned to the Underworld. It was as dimly lit as he remembered, torches of blue fire lining the wall. His throne was exactly as he had left it. 

“Hades?”

He whirled around, eyes going wide. “Sephie?” He whispered. 

She ran into his arms, their hugs tight enough to shatter the bones of a mortal. 

“Sephie,” he whispered brokenly. “Hadie, our son, he-”

“Shh,” she whispered. “I know.” She pulled back and pressed her forehead to his. “We will find him,” she promised. “And I can’t wait to meet my stepchildren. I will love them all.” 

Hades’ dark eyes were focused entirely on Persephone, unwilling to look away even as Charon and Thanatos entered, murmuring greetings. With a soft kiss to his lips, she stepped away. 

“I have to return to Olympus,” she said softly. “But I will meet you at the Enchanted Lake. Regain your strength.” She left a bundle of flowers in his hands and left. Hades closed his eyes and buried his face in the soft flowers, inhaling the sweet scents. 

He needed to find his children. But first, he needed rest. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killian finds Harry in a weird spot. Evie and Henry go to breakfast. Marla and Ju-Long take their siblings to the park. Regina goes to her meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have renamed Jiao-Long to Ju-Long bc I like it better. I hope you all enjoy!

“Emma, love!” Killian crowed as he answered the phone. “I was just about to-”

“ _Is Harry up_?”

Killian paused, brow furrowing. “Not what I was expecting but no, I figured I’d let him sleep in.”

“ _Can you go check on him and call me back if he’s asleep in a weird place? I swear I have a reason_.”

Killian blinked a few times, just a little confused. “Alright… I’ll call you back.” He hung up and headed to Harry’s room, only to find him asleep on the floor in the bathroom. His first concern was that his son had gotten sick in the night. A brush of the back of his hand over Harry’s forehead revealed no fever. With a frown, he shook his son awake. 

“Da’?” Harry squinted as he rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?” He yawned. “Think I’m late for school.”

“Power outage last night, you’re fine. Why were you sleeping on the bathroom floor? Did you get sick?” He tried to feel Harry’s forehead again. 

Harry batted at his hand and scrunched his face up. “Went for some water and then…” He shrugged. “I got real sleepy all of a sudden. Things get fuzzy after that.”

Killian felt his stomach clench. Instead of letting it show, he ruffled his son’s already messy hair and smiled. “Head on back to bed, alright? I’ve got to meet with Emma at Regina’s office. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Harry nodded and stumbled off to bed, waving goodbye as his door closed behind him. 

Outside, Killian called Emma.

“Found Harry passed out in the bathroom, what happened last night?” He demanded. 

“ _No one knows_ ,” Emma admitted. “ _We’re meeting at Regina’s office to try and figure it out_.”

“Be there in ten.” Killian hung up. With a final glance back at his son’s window, he headed for the town hall. 

In his room, Harry collapsed into bed, scrolling through his phone notifications. Texts from his friends about school being cancelled, a few tumblr notifications, and his phone letting him know it had ten percent battery left. He grunted and fumbled to put it on the charger before falling asleep again. 

~

“Hi Ruby!” 

She looked up and grinned as Evie and Henry tumbled in, cheeks red from the cold. 

“Hey!” She pointed to their usual booth before grabbing menus and heading over, pad already in her hand. “I’m only bringing these in case you guys decide you want something else.”

Evie and Henry burst out laughing as she started writing on her pad, menus still tucked under her arm. “The usuals then.” Two pancakes and a cup of fruit for Evie, and three waffles with a side of bacon for Henry. 

“And hot coco!” Henry added. 

“Times two,” Evie agreed.

“You got it.” Ruby smiled as she went to put the orders in. Evie and Henry were two of her favorite customers. Both of them brought a liveliness to the diner and she enjoyed watching them tease each other. 

Evie shivered and stripped her gloves off as she huddled closer to the heater that ran under the table. 

“What do you think caused the power outage?” Henry asked. 

“I don’t know,” Evie shrugged. “Maybe there was some sort of glitch at the power plant.” She pulled her phone out. “So, trivia?” 

Henry nodded, a faint crease still between his brows. Evie noticed and sighed, reaching across to tap his hand. 

“Hey,” she said. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal, ok? These things happen all the time.” 

“When has anything normal ever happened in this town?” 

Unfortunately, he had a point.

“Trivia,” she said firmly. He straightened up a little as Ruby set their coco down. “Let’s try superheroes.” 

They played until their food arrived.

~

“Damian, be careful!” Marla eyed her brother as he hung upside down from the monkey bars. “Don’t make me tell Dad.” 

Ju-long quickly glanced at Lian, making sure he was still on the swings with Panykos. Luckily, he was still swinging relatively low, laughing as he dipped backwards. Ju-long could see that his hands were tight on the swing’s chains though, so he didn’t fret too much. 

“So, are you still writing?” He asked her, unable to think of anything else. 

“Yeah,” she said, eyes on Basil as he played on the balance beams. “How’s cooking club? Is Lucas still attending?” 

“Y-yeah.” He blinked at her, surprised that she was aware of his involvement. “He is. He missed last week though.” 

“He had a cold, wasn’t it?” 

“Yeah. He’s fine now though.”

They stood there, watching their siblings run around, laughing and playing. 

After about an hour, Marla called her siblings back to her side and Ju-long held his hand out for Lian. 

“Are you guys going to the fair tomorrow?” He asked her. 

“Yeah. Around noon.”

Ju-long smiled. “See you tomorrow maybe?”

“Maybe,” she agreed. “Bye. Bye Lian.” 

Damian, Basil, and Panykos said their goodbyes and followed Marla out of the park. 

“I’m hungry.” Lian tugged at his brother. 

Ju-long checked his watch. “I’ll make a snack when we get home,” he said. “Dad’ll be home with dinner in a couple of hours.” 

~

“What the hell happened last night?” Killian demanded as he stormed into Regina’s office. 

“Shh!” Regina hissed at him. She listened to something on the phone, lips pressed together. “Alright, thank you Ms. Aquia. Yes, the fair will still be going on tomorrow. Yes. Goodbye.” She hung up. “The people at the power plant say that there is nothing in the machinery that could have caused the outage but they are checking all the power lines to make sure none are downed.”

“That doesn’t explain the kids,” Mary Margaret said worriedly. “All of our kids fell asleep in strange places last night.”

“Well, the teens at least,” Regina muttered. “Henry was in bed all last night. Did Neal do anything strange?”

David shook his head. “He was in his crib. Though this is the first time he’s slept through the night.”

“Don’t go expecting that again tonight,” Killian mumbled. Emma flicked his arm and gave him a look. “What?” He asked. “I’m just saying.”

“He’s probably right,” Mary Margaret sighed. 

“Until we can find a cause for what happened, we keep this quiet,” Regina announced firmly. “No need to worry the town and _nobody_ tell the kids.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hades and Persephone begin their search. Henry finds a new story in the book. Uma checks in with friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to stretch this to 1,000 words but it kept refusing! Sorry it’s a little shorter than normal! Thank you guys for all the reviews! They really keep me going!

Water lapped at the shores of the Enchanted Lake. Hades watched the motion, soothed by the sound and the repetitive view. 

“Sephie.” He smiled as she appeared, flowers blooming in her footsteps. 

“Hades.” 

They shared a brief kiss. 

“There are stones in the lake that can supposedly grant wishes,” he told her, an arm around her waist. “Perhaps, they might be part of the cause.”

Persephone’s brow furrowed. “Enough to take all of the children?”

“Not by itself. But as Hecate said, it was not just one wish.” 

“Fused wishes.” Persephone recalled. “How can wishes fuse?”

“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” 

Hades crouched down and pressed his palm to the water, blue lights spreading forth to the lake, lighting it from within. In the center of the lake, a white light began to pulse. The two gods exchanged looks. 

~

Henry pulled his storybook down from the closet shelf. A quick swipe to take care of the dust and the book was back to its old self. 

Flipping it open, he went through the stories again. 

The prince who wasn’t a prince meeting the hunted princess. The spinner turned magical beast and the princess that became his True Love. The sea witch, once thought a myth, become reality. The evil queen’s true love. 

Henry frowned. He smoothed his fingers over the illustration. 

A pirate, a warrior, and a goddess, all entwined. 

The goddess was decked out in the darkest green he had ever seen, midriff and shoulders bare. Silver bands curved over her biceps. Her feet were bare. Her eyes almost glowed.

The pirate wore red, a sword in hand, crossed with the warrior’s over the goddess’s stomach. His eyes were as red as his coat. 

The warrior wore armor, like the one in the story with the Yaoguai, but different. His helmet was by his feet, sword crossed with the pirate’s. 

He didn’t remember this story. 

~

Uma scratched her stomach as she poured her second bowl of cereal. Gil was blowing up the group chat with dog pictures again, and Harry was still asleep no doubt. 

“How the hell did you fall asleep on the dinner room table?” Ursula asked again as she pulled her work boots on. 

Uma shrugged. “Dunno.” 

“Good thing you didn’t fall off.” Ursula double knotted the laces. “I should be home by nine. Remember, homework done-”

“Homework done, dishes done, no boys over, and no R rated movies,” Uma finished. 

“No boys, and/or girls.” Ursula tacked on. “Love you, baby.” She kissed Uma’s forehead and gave her daughter a smile before heading off to the docks for work. 

Uma rolled her eyes. “Bye mom!”

She sat on the couch with her cereal, turning on some ghost hunting show as she began looking through Gil’s texts. A text in a different group chat pinged. 

[Marla]:  _ Who else fell asleep in a weird spot last night? My dad found me in the bathtub.  _

[Evie]:  _ Attic. Went to grab some old dresses, woke up when Henry found me.  _

[Ben]:  _ Hallway outside my own room.   
_

[Ben]: _ ??? _

Uma frowned. 

_ Kitchen table. I’ll check w/ Gil and Harry.  _

Hopping over to her other chat with the two, Gil confirmed that his oldest brother, Grayson, had found him on the staircase landing that morning. Harry, now awake, simply said  _Bathroom_ . 

Uma switched chats. 

_ Harry was in the bathroom. Gil was the stairs landing. Wtf guys??? _

[Marla]:  _ I was with Ju-Long and Lian at the park earlier. Should have asked him if he or his brother woke up in a weird spot. Brain fuzz is lighter today, but still there.  _

[Ben]:  _ I have his number, I’ll ask. _

Uma ate a few bites of her slightly soggy cereal. 

[Ben]:  _ Apparently his dad found him in the bathroom too. Lian was in bed all night so far as he knows.  _

[Evie]:  _ This town is getting weird again. Henry is noticing and starting on his conspiracy theories again.  _

Uma rolled her eyes. 

_ He’s not wrong.  _

[Evie]:  _ Not my point, Uma _ . 

[Marla]:  _ This isn’t definitive proof. None of the adults fell asleep in weird spots. Just us teens. All of my siblings were in bed last night, and yet I was in the bathtub. Harry and Ju-Long were also in the bathroom. Gil on the stairs, Uma on the table, Evie in the attic, and Ben in the hallway. I’m not finding much of a pattern there except our ages.  _

[Ben]:  _ We have a small sample size. Let’s check with others, see if we can’t find more.  _

[Evie]:  _ And if basically every teen in the town fell asleep somewhere odd? _

[Ben]:  _ Then, and only then, can we call it magic _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and tell me what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review if you liked it!


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